Lotus - Proton: Renault to sell 25pc F1 team stake on Wednesday

A contract formalising the sale of French carmaker Renault SA’s minority shareholding in the Enstone based formula one team will be signed on Wednesday.

That is the claim of the Paris daily Le Figaro, revealing that the buyer of the 25 per cent share is Proton, the Malaysian carmaker.

Without naming its sources close to the transaction, the newspaper said Proton’s Group Lotus brand will then become the title sponsor, in a EUR 30 million per season deal over five years.

Renault SA president and CEO Carlos Ghosn would not comment on the report except to say: "We’ll be there next year and in future seasons."

But Le Figaro said the carmaker will actually only be an engine supplier to the renamed Lotus-Renault, Red Bull and the Malaysian team currently known as Lotus Racing in 2011.